What do you associate with plastic furniture? Those shaky cheap plastic chairs that almost collapse when you merely look at them? For a very long time, plastic translated to cheap, not very robust and certainly not stylish. But times have changed. The Italian company Kartell, founded in 1949, is the main producer of contemporary plastic furniture. Over the years they’ve managed to change plastic’s reputation for the better and, along with renowned designers, among them Philippe Starck, Antonio Citterio, Ron Arad, Anna Castelli Ferrieri and Ferruccio Laviani, they’ve created design icons. At this year’s fair in Milan, you could take a trip through time and have a look at all of Kartell’s icons. Let me introduce you to some of their most memorable pieces. You’ll probably find out that you’ve actually seen some of them before and just didn’t know how famous they were.
La Marie was designed by Philippe Starck in 1998. It’s truly special because it was the first fully transparent chair made from just one mould. Extensive research in polycarbonate technology made it possible to produce a chair that is extremely light, set also strong and robust. La Marie is shock-, scratch- and weather-proof and can be used indoors or outdoors. In addition to the original transparent color, there are now four other colors available. According to Kartell Los Angeles, the price starts at $319.
In 1994, Antonio Citterio and Oliver Löw designed Mobil, a versatile storage unit suitable for every room in the house. It’s available from two or up to six drawers, with or without handles and in seven different colors. You can even choose whether you want it transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. The outer chrome frame gives it a pretty industrial look—another characteristic of Kartell furniture. Also, Mobil is very light, flexible and extremely durable; no wonder that it is Kartell’s best-selling product. Prices start at $762.
These chairs were a real revolution in furniture production. Philippe Starck and Kartell had the idea – seemingly impossible at the time – of molding together two rounded shapes of polycarbonate without any adhesive. In 2007 they succeeded and introduced Mr. Impossible, using a new indestructible seal to hold those two oval shapes together. The outcome is a three-dimensional effect (look at the black chair above) and bi-color look. Now, there are nine different colors to choose from and, again, this chair is scratch- and shock-proof and can also be used indoors and outdoors. Price starts at $440.
In 1969, Anna Castelli Ferrieri designed Componibili, a plastic container with sliding lids. It’s been sold for over forty years now and is still among Kartell’s bestsellers. You can choose from two different models: the smaller version (12.5’’ in diameter) with either two or three units, or the larger one (16.5’’ in diameter) which you can stack together using single smaller units or single larger ones. It comes in four different colors and either with wheels or without, depending on how you plan to use it. Componibili has received great recognition around the world and is even exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Price starts from $41.
Ever wanted to store your books in a really unusual way? Then Ron Arad’s Bookworm is the right choice for you. Designed in 1993, it quickly became another one of Kartell’s icons. The plastic bookcase is available in three different lengths, four different colors and it’s absolutely flexible and can be arranged in several ways. Kartell says that with Bookworm “[u]nlimited shapes can be formed, limited only by personal creativity.” This is why it’s not just a bookcase; it’s a funky means to decorate your wall. Price starts at $425.
Here’s another pioneer in furniture production: Bubble Club, the first industrial sofa made of plastic. In 2000, a new technology made it possible to mass-produce this polypropylene and mass-tinted piece of furniture, something that had been handmade until then. Again, it was designer Philippe Starck who gave Bubble Club its memorable shape—the sleek backrest and the soft armrests. In addition to the sofa, there’s also a chair and a small table which makes Bubble Club perfect for an “industrial living-room”, as Kartell puts it. You can choose from six different colors and the prices start at $192 (for the chair).
Now, I’m quite sure it’s impossible to go through life without ever having seen FL/Y or at least a knock-off. For me, it’s the one and only plastic lamp—another icon, of course. Designed by Ferruccio Laviani in 2002, it was Kartell’s first lamp. FL/Y comes in eleven different colors and since it’s made from transparent methacrylate, it fluoresces in all the colors of the rainbow and brings back happy childhood memories of (giant) soap bubbles floating through the air. Price starts at $295.
I hope that next time you hear about plastic chairs you’ll think of Kartell and their design icons. They have managed to write furniture history. Kartell’s products are now distributed in more than 96 countries all around the world and sold in 120 flagship stores as well as by 4,000 retailers.
I think you’ll now agree that plastic is fantastic.
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